There is an ancient legend about Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and a spider. After Jesus was born, the Holy Family fled into Egypt, while baby boys were being slaughtered by order of King Herod. The legend says that one night the family stopped to sleep in a cave. There was a spider in that cave, the story goes, who knew the infant Jesus was a special child. According to the legend, the spider felt called to do something unexpected— something that would save Mary, Joseph, and Jesus fr

Pope Francis has granted a plenary indulgence to Catholics celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at home this Saturday.  Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes announced the pope’s decision following a Dec. 6 Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, reported ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. “The situation of the pandemic forced us, for the sake of everyone’s life, to keep the Guadalupe complex closed from Dec. 10 to Dec. 13, and therefore

Pope Francis announced a Year of St. Joseph Tuesday in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the universal Church . The year begins Dec. 8, 2020, and concludes on Dec. 8, 2021, according to a decree authorized by the pope. The decree said that Pope Francis had established a Year of St. Joseph so that “every member of the faithful, following his example, may strengthen their life of faith daily in the complete fulfillment of God’s will.”

By Mary Farrow/Catholic News Agency Wry jokes and memes about the decided awfulness of the year 2020 – with the pandemic, ensuing lockdowns and economic distress, as well as civil unrest in a turbulent election year – are well known to just about anyone on social media. Now, Christians find themselves entering into Advent, a season that is supposed to be one of joyful preparation for the celebration of Christmas, as well as preparation for the eventual Second Coming of Chris

DENVER, CO - JULY 5: Bishop James D. Conley (L) speaks at the 2017 Regional Catholic Classical Schools Conference at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Parish on July 5, 2017, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Anya Semenoff/Denver Catholic) By Mary Farrow/Catholic News Agency In December 2019, Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln announced he was going on a medical leave of absence. Citing diagnoses of depression and anxiety, as well as chronic insomnia and debilitating tinn

By Jonah McKeown/Catholic News Agency Coloradans are preparing for a ballot referendum that would ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy in the state. While abortion advocates argue that such abortions are “extremely rare,” statistics recorded by a longtime Colorado abortionist shed light on the late term abortions performed at one Boulder clinic. The data reveals hundreds of late-term abortions performed over a 20-year period on babies with fetal abnormalities such as Dow

By JD Flynn/Catholic News Agency “Francesco,” a newly released documentary on the life and ministry of Pope Francis, has made global headlines, because the film contains a scene in which Pope Francis calls for the passage of civil union laws for same-sex couples. Some activists and media reports have suggested that Pope Francis has changed Catholic teaching by his remarks. Among many Catholics, the pope’s comments have raised questions about what the pope really said, what

By Kevin Jones/Catholic News Agency As Colorado voters consider a ballot measure to ban abortion after 22 weeks of pregnancy, pro-life Democrats have been vocal in support, stressing its mainstream appeal and the need to give care to vulnerable human beings who can survive outside of the womb. “When people realize abortion is allowed up to birth for any reason in Colorado most are shocked. People travel from all over the U.S. and even the world to Colorado to get late-term a

TOPSHOT - Judge Amy Coney Barrett is nominated to the US Supreme Court by President Donald Trump in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC on September 26, 2020. - Barrett, if confirmed by the US Senate, will replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) Catholic leaders and academics have voiced their support following President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge

By Mary Farrow/Catholic News Agency As three airliners smashed into the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001, Joaquín Navarro-Valls, at the time the director of the Vatican press office, delivered the news to Pope John Paul II. “I remember that terrible afternoon as if it were yesterday. I called the Pope, who was at Castel Gandolfo, I gave him the news. He was shocked not only by the tragedy itself,

September 9 marked the Feast of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who ministered to African slaves in Colombia in the 17th century. The U.S. bishops have invited Catholics to observe the day with fasting and prayer for an end to racism in the United States. Peter Claver was born in 1581 to a devout farming family in the Catalonia region of Spain. He attended the University of Barcelona as a young man before joining the Jesuits at the age of 20. During his studies as a novice,

Featured image: The base of a beheaded statue at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Denver. Credit: David Strycula/CNA By JD Flynn/Catholic News Agency After the statue of a saint was beheaded outside a Denver parish, the city’s archbishop said he’s praying for the conversion of those who have attacked churches and religious statues across the country in recent months. A statue of St. Jude was beheaded in the courtyard of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish this weekend, diocesan offic

The Maronite eparchs of the United States are pleading for prayers and aid for the people of Lebanon in the wake of the large explosion in Beirut on Tuesday, August 4, as Lebanon’s bishops call for a day of fasting and prayer this weekend. Dozens are feared dead and thousands were injured by the blast, the cause of which is still unknown. Harrowing images from Beirut show buildings reduced to rubble, and an estimated hundreds of thousands of people were made homeless by the e

A Lebanese Catholic priest has asked believers around the world to pray for the people of his country, after two explosions in Beirut injured hundreds of people and are reported to have left at least 10 people dead. “We ask your nation to carry Lebanon in its hearts at this difficult stage and we place great trust in you and in your prayers, and that the Lord will protect Lebanon from evil through your prayers,” Fr. Miled el-Skayyem of the Chapel of St. John Paul II in Keserw

By Mary Farrow/Catholic News Agency Susana Diaz gets a kick out of watching couples’ faces during their first marriage preparation class. Diaz, who is the manager of marriage ministries for the Archdiocese of Miami, said she likes watching people realize they will be talking about sex, in intimate detail, in a church setting. “Most of the time that is the first moment that they realize what NFP is, or that the Catholic Church is talking about sex. Some of them, they’re in sho

The Supreme Court on Wednesday delivered a long-awaited religious liberty decision on the right of religious schools to hire and fire...

The Little Sisters of the Poor had a victory at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, nine years into the religious order’s bouts of litigation...

By Courtney Mares/Catholic News Agency On the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on Monday, Pope Francis urged Christians to pray for one...

Catholic leaders say the Church has an important role in working for racial justice, but that protesting for justice does not imply...

By Matt Hadro/Catholic News Agency As thousands of protesters prepared to march against racism in Washington, D.C. last Saturday, Louis...